Welcome to Prometheus Rising Studios, the home of Ben Mininberg (Prometheum5)’s custom made toys, painted models, and other various works. Be sure to check out the latest progress on my efforts to create my own mecha toy line using my PP3DP UP! Mini 3D printer, the archive of my Killer Culture resin bacterial monster and robot figures, and all the models and custom painted toys I’ve done for customers. If you like what you see, drop me a line using the link on the side or swing by the Store site to purchase something fun.

For more info about Prometheus Rising Heavy Industries and my 3D printing efforts, click this post to check out this interview I did with CollectionDX!

I recently got an email from Games Workshop announcing that they were revamping the iconic gaming and hobby magazine White Dwarf, bringing it back to something closer to its glory days. I have’t read WD in years or followed GW stuff very closely, but the debut issue of the new mag came with a free figure, so I picked one up. The new magazine seems promising so far, and has me paying attention to Games Workshop’s offerings once again. The bonus figure was the Slaughterpriest with HACKBLADE and WRATH-HAMMER, a ridiculous sounding fellow that will be usuable in the upcoming boardgame, Gorechosen. The Slaughterpriest is a pit-fighter that has dedicated himself to the Chaos god Khorne, embodiment of violence and blood stuff. I haven’t painted a gaming miniature of this size in years, but I just got some new Windsor and Newton Series 7 brushes in the mail and thought they could use some breaking in. This guy is a fully plastic figure, but the parts breakdown and level of detail feel closer to a metal or resin figure. The whole thing is really quite impressive, and I guess this is how GW is doing all of their character figures now, since metal is too expensive and their Finecast resin material was terrible. In addition to being the first 28 mm mini I’ve painted in ages, I tried a few new techniques here, including painting a darker skin tone, which I’m pretty happy with the results of. The big photos bring out every flaw and misstep in my brushwork, but I’m satisfied with how this guy came out and looking forward to bringing him to the table when Gorechosen comes out!

Afinia 3D has published a nice little eBook about people that use their Afinia 3D printers to make cool, creative stuff! I talked to them about the action figures I make, and then also featured PRHI-friend David White, aka MechaZone!

The previous PRHI Gonk Droid 3D printed release was one of my most popular projects. I get so many requests to offer more, but have not had the time to make another batch myself. I finally spent the time to make a version of the PRHI Gonk Droid available through Shapeways. This revised Gonk Droid is sold as a kit in two parts, the body and a leg sprue. This means you can purchase the body printed in a nice bright color, and get the legs in black. You could just block in the face details and have a great looking figure, or go all out and do a fully painted custom. You can order the Gonk Droid now for a total of $60 using the below links to the PRHI Shapeways Store. The kit snaps together with no glue needed, and I am really happy with the fit of the joints.

I recently picked up a loose Transformers G1 Hosehead that was missing all of the accessories except for the head. This guy is always crazy expensive for some reason, so I spent a little time and made some 3D printed replacement accessories to complete mine. These are available now from Shapeways in two listings, one is a sprue of all the black parts and the other is the seat/helmet. You can pick them up now from the PRHI Shapeways Store. The pics here are of my home-printed samples. The parts are close copies from reference pictures, but not exact copies so you’ll be able to tell them apart.

Restore is having another painting contest, in collaboration with Pop Soda. I had a great time in the previous contest with my third place entry Gikaku, False Oni. Entries for this contest could use any of Restore’s toys, and I went with Fog because it was pretty much the only way I was going to be able to get one these days. I love the detailed sculpt, so I looked at lots of real life pictures of chameleons for inspiration. Turns out, chameleons are totally rad, so I had a lot to work with. I took key colors from a couple that I liked and tweaked the layout to fit the humanoid shape, and fired up the airbrush. The name “Pardalizard” comes from the species name of some particularly hot looking breeds. The contest is open for a few more months, and then we’ll see how I do!

I took all the photos outside so I could show off my nature-inspired Fog in his home. The photoshoot was a ton of fun and I am really happy with how the photos came out. More after the break, and there are a lot of shots!

The newest 3D printed Prometheus Rising Heavy Industries action figure release is finally ready! The PRHI Micro Moving Mecha production release is a project that has been in the works for much longer than I expected. This 3 3/4″ tall, fully posable action figure is designed as a ‘what-if?’, asking what might have happened if Takara had gotten the license for Mobile Suit Gundam instead of the toy company Clover. Based on a sketch by the illustrious Minoru Sashida, the Micro Moving Mecha depicts the Gundam as a Microman line diecast metal figure similar to the Jeeg and Gakeen figures released at the time. The MMM is 3D printed in color, using silver plastic for the limbs and head to represent bare metal, with colored details only for the torso and accessories. The toy features 5 mm peg construction in the major places, with 3 mm diameter hands, meaning that the MMM can hold some vintage Microman accessories, and that authentic Microman figures can wield the MMM’s Clover-inspired Beam Rifle and Beam Sabers.